• Posted 01-Mar-2022

Circular Plastics Alliance: new report calls on all stakeholders to work together

The Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) published a new report on the requirements and solutions to increase the integration of recycled plastics into products.

It was discussed at the general assembly of the CPA, opened by Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market. During the event, alliance signatories and public authorities publicly discussed the path to the EU target of 10 million tonnes of recycled plastics by 2025, including the further actions needed from market actors and the required policy support.

The report calls for systemic change in the single market and deeper cooperation between all public and private actors in the plastics value chain across Europe. In particular, it identifies the need for new European standards on recycled plastics. The Commission has replied to this with a draft request to CEN and CENELEC for new voluntary standards on recycled plastics, available for public consultation and comments until 18 March. The alliance also identifies five key challenges for greater uptake of recycled plastics, and proposes a series of solutions to overcome these, from recyclability to increased waste collection to investments and R&D. Stakeholders and the public can share any feedback on the report by 18 March.

To measure progress towards the EU target, the alliance has just approved two new tools for collecting data on the production and use of recycled plastics in Europe and invites European companies to start submit their data immediately. The Alliance was launched by the European Commission in 2018 help boost the EU market for recycled plastics to 10 million tonnes by 2025. The Alliance represents some 300 industry, academic, civil society and public sector organisations across the whole of the recycled plastics value chain. 

Source: European Commission I Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (https://bit.ly/35hWeOf)